New Thunderbolts vs Secret Six: - Jurry of your Peers
by Impurest Cheese
Summary: A foolish error by a Maggia stooge causes a confrontation between the New Thunderbolts and the Secret Six. With two teams of heroic felons on the lose will anybody be safe and how many casulties will there be on each side? Set between Phase 1 & 2 of New Thunderbolts and Secret Six #34 - 35.
1. Jurry of your Peers - Part 1

Maurice chuckled as he put the comic he had been reading back on the desk and checked the security camera feed for signs of uninvited guests. Recently Chicago had become a much harder place to make a living in, and his employers the Maggia were running around in circles as the Thunderbolts begun their campaign to clean the streets of criminals. Not that Maurice had much to worry about them, the facility he was guarding was one of the few legitimate and totally legal ventures that Count Nefaria was involved in. In addition he had some pretty nasty back-up in the form of the trembling collage dropout slumped on the next desk alongside the beautiful centrefold he had summoned out of the pages of the copy of Playboy. Despite his appearance the Bookworm was a deadly ally and Maurice pitted anyone stupid enough to come into the warehouse.

"Maurice." a voice called, "Hey prick I'm talking to you." Maurice looked around to see his buddy Will emerge from behind another desk with a second Playboy bunny. "You're an idiot Maurice." Will chided, "Reading that piece of garbage rather then taking up the Worm's offer."

"Nah I prefer to read." Maurice replied, "Or at least look at the pictures."

"Like you would have a chance with any of those broads." Will sniffed as his pager went off. Unhooking the device he read the message before pushing the bunny away. "Whatever the case get ready Nefaria's brat of a daughter wants us to go down to Volkner Industries and steal some new weapon that Ozcorp hired them to move to a West Coast Facility."

"No way man, you know that Volkner has certain agents who would clean the floor with us." Maurice replied, "Are they sending any meta support with us?"

"None, Nefaria says he can't spare anyone, not with this new player in town." Will answered, "Word is he already has the 88, Druid's Sickle and AIM working for him. Looks like this Silent Partner freak is raising an army for whatever reason, I sure hope that he doesn't point it as us."

"No backup jeez." Maurice wheezed, "Wait what about him?" he asked jabbing a finger at Bookworm.

"Not even him."

"Nah I thought maybe if we get some metas for ourselves we can go in without having to fight the Thunderbolts." Maurice suggested picking up the comic, "These guys are super villains just like us, they can deal with those stuck up heros while we snatch the package."

"I don't like this." Will begun to say but it was too late Maurice had already walked up to Bookworm and was prodding him in the ribs. "Hey do this one." Maurice ordered. Groaning Bookworm picked up the comic and read out one of the passages, the book glowing in his hands before a pink light erupted from the page and solidified in the warehouse outside the pages to form eight people all standing around looking mildly confused. Will decided right off the bat that he didn't like this; one of the guys looked like a Mexican wrestler and was built like one too, for some reason this guy scared him more then the giant humanoid shark, the gunman with wrist mounted guns and the crazy looking dude with bandages over his face.

"Sod this I'm out." he snapped before walking over to the door. The gunman tilted his head and fired a shot into the Maggia stooges head causing him to slam into the concrete, his face punctured with a bullet right between the eyes.

"Where are we?" the wrestler asked.

"Chicago." Maurice announced, "We summoned you here because you were about to be captured by the Justice League. You're no longer in Gotham Bane; you have a chance to start over."

"This is a setup." a woman in a powdered wig hissed, "How could we simply be summoned, I sense no real power in this room."

"Jeanette calm down." the gunman stated, "I have no idea what they did but this beats being beaten by the bat. Those guys never make anything final, it was a good idea but this is better."

"Deadshot has a point." a second woman stated, this one dressed in black with swords attached to her woman added, "Still I don't like being in the service of another."

"I concur." Bane added, "Still if this is true then we at least owe our rescuers something."

"Well there is a job we need help with." Maurice stated, "We have been hired to steal a weapon but the facility is guarded by super human agents, even my magic wouldn't protect us. That's where you come in, we get the weapon you deal with the guards and as soon as we get back to base you are free to do whatever it is you do."

"I suppose we have no choice or at least not a good one, for all we know this wizard could send us back to where we came from." the man with the bandaged face lamented.

"We have a deal but try anything and you will wish you never summoned the Secret Six." Bane threatened.

"Trust me I already do." Bookworm moaned as Maurice grinned like a massive kid living out his fantasy. For some reason this seemed different to his other summons and Bookworm had a feeling that things were going to head south quite quickly.

* * *

Melissa crash landed into the lab that sat at the top of the Sidewinder building, she had been lucky tonight at least luckier then she had any right to be. A simple call out to O'Hare to help transport a prisoner to the local prison had become a nightmare, not only had it started snowing again, something she had assured the public was a natural occurrence, but the crook, a goon called the Foreigner had got a lucky shot in before she had caught him.

(The people of Chicago have reason to be terrified due to the F5s recent terror attack on the city as seen in New Thunderbolts #25 - 27)

Groaning she saw the light flash on and saw Abe rush over to her, his legs firmly in his new Interceptor armor. "Mel what happened?" he yelled as he pulled her up and checked out the gunshot wound in her arm.

"It's been dealt with." Melissa answered, "Why the whole armor up situation?"

"The alarms at one of Volkner's warehouse facilities just went off." Abe told her, "It's where they are storing the XC-820 'Chisel', a man portable Mass Driver Canon. If its stolen then it becomes a massive problem for us, field tests say a projectile can smash through twenty meters of solid concrete."

"Not something we want out on the street." Melissa stated as she ran a wave of sonic energy down her arm disintegrating the bullet stuck in her wound. "Best bring everyone, between AIM, the Maggia and Silent Partner we can expect that Meta elements are involved in the theft."

"Got it." Abe announced, "And Mel if you feel that you're not up to it then you can sit this one out." Melissa smiled before flexing her arm and hiding the fact that any movement hurt like hell. "Don't worry Abe I'll be fine."

* * *

The last security guard bum-rushed the invaders only for his chosen target to bend down and slam his jaws over his head and torso before painfully ripping him apart. With a sickening crunch King Shark chewed through the spine and spat out the guard's skull, the cranium caved in by the tooth still embedded in the bone. "So this seemed like a waste of time." he snarled, "Any fish could have done this job."

"I agree." Bane announced turning to Maurice as he cracked a box open with a crowbar, "Where is this so called security that you were afraid to take on."

"I'm sure they are around here." Maurice gulped as Deadshot shone a laser dot on his forehead, "They must be around here, every time we try anything the bloody Thunderbolts turn up.

"Thunderbolts?" Ragdoll asked, "What fiends are these men who hunt the honest criminal, not normal security have you set us against Heros?"

"No they are criminals pretending to be lawmen." Maurice gulped, "They are bigger crooks then any of us."

"Intriguing, these Thunderbolts may have a good idea." Bane mused, "People so rarely expect their Heros to be anything other then what they see. We may be able to use their scheme for our own deeds."

"As long as you pay royalties." a voice announced, looking up the Secret Six saw the armoured figure of Interceptor hovering over the room while behind him Songbird dragged a sonic platform where the rest of the team stood. "Quite a mixed bag," he announced, "Tiger Shark, Man Killer, the Clown, Janissary and Bobcat or at least wannabes hopping that being frightening is enough to get the job done. Just a word of caution when you get to the Raft you may want to avoid mentioning that you were masquerading as real criminals." Abe added as Melissa landed the platform. "So who are you with then?"

"The Secret Six work for whoever they want." Bane snarled.

"Um I'm no maths whizz." Boomerang stated, "But even I can tell that there are eight of you."

"Harkness." Deadshot yelled, "Well I guess Thunderbolts is just another name for the Suicide Squad."

"Enough talk." Catman growled, "We were hired to do a job no matter who these guys are. Jeanette end this quickly." he added as seven members of the Secret Six stepped backwards to give Jeanette a clean shot at the Thunderbolts.

"Shit." Melissa yelled as she heard the acoustic rise of Jeanette's scream before it was even released. Stepping forward she saw and heard the Banshee release her wail and concentrated on the wave of sound, morphing it into something harmless as the wall of noise struck her. With a sneer of determination Songbird watched as Jeanette's offensive transformed into a flight of pink hard sound butterflies that flew off into the warehouse before detonating harmlessly on the crates and walls. "My god that was so powerful." Melissa gasped as she dropped to her knee, "It was like nothing I have ever heard before."

"A Star Sapphire here?" Scandal queried, "These guys are not you're average crooks."

"Doesn't matter." Bane yelled, "King Shark, Knockout clear us a path. Secret Six crush them." With a hiss of fury King Shark thundered towards the Thunderbolts followed by Knockout, the pair of them heading for Songbird in the hopes of crushing her. Dashing forward to meet the attackers Abe opened fire with his Maser pistol causing King Shark to stall screaming as the radiation burnt his skin. As he switched targets he saw that he was too late, Knockout had reached Melissa and was about to rip her head off. With a yell he watched as the well built redhead smashed Mel in the face only for her to collapse into a pile of sand.

"What the fuck?" Knockout swore as the sand swirled around her before a grainy hand grabbed her own arm and tossed her into a forklift, the machine crumpling under the force of her blow. Abe looked back at his team to see Vassal helping the real Melissa to her feet. Amazing, his team had taken the initiative and rescued her without him realizing, even though the Thunderbolts had only been together for a week they were already functioning as a group.

"Wait there was eight of them?" Deadshot yelled as he fired ineffective shots at Quicksand, "Where are the other two?"

"Ragdoll behind you!" Catman snarled. Ragdoll turned to see a fist slam into his jaw as Black Tarantula emerged from the darkness. Twisting his body he rolled away from the follow up blow before wrapping an arm and a leg around his foes torso and hand springing off the floor to slam his victim into the ground. With a grunt Black Tarantula slammed his free hand into Ragdoll's mouth and pulled his attacker away, the sound of snapping legs and arms showing how brutal the counter attack was.

"Snap, snap." Ragdoll hummed as he slapped Tarantula in the groin as he attempted to escape, "The Ragdoll can slip through the spider's web."

"You are a very sick man." Black Tarantula replied as he slammed his elbow out into Catman's jaw as he attempted to sneak up behind the Thunderbolt. "You are impressive, a true hunter like me, this clown is beneath people such as us, you on the other hand are an equal." he continued as he kicked Ragdoll away to face his new foe.

King Shark roared as he got to his feet, his opponent a monster of a man armed with an axe was heading towards him. Slashing forward he raised his arm as a makeshift shield and charged into Vassal before tossing him aside like he was a light weight. His frenzy only growing he turned his focus on a man in a hazmat suit who was dodging Bane's strikes. "I'm a Shark bitch." he roared as he came charging in towards the pair, his warning didn't go unheeded, dodging Bane's last blow Oxide turned and fired a pulse of heat at the charging monster changing his roar into a timid squeal as he attempted to escape the painful burst of burning air.

"Okay the freaks sure are out tonight." Chris commented before Bane grabbed his hands and pulled him up off the ground. Igniting his hands Oxide watched as the masked wrestler held on even tighter, the increasing heat doing nothing to discourage his attacker.

"Drop the kid." Boomerang yelled as he threw a projectile at Bane. Sneering Deadshot opened fire and destroyed the 'rang before it reached his target before advancing on Myers.

"Come on Harkness, we both know you play second fiddle to me on the Suicide Squad." Deadshot chided, "Be a good little wallaby and give up."

"Wow that's a bit racist." Boomerang mumbled as he threw two more of his trademark weapons before watching Deadshot shoot them down with ease. "Seriously Captain Koala what did that achieve?"

"A distraction." Boomerang replied as he threw a forth weapon. Deadshot lined up the shot and fired, his bullet missing by inches as his targeting scope flashed on and off.

"What the hell somebody is jamming me." Deadshot spat as he fired several more shots at Boomerang, the nimble Australian darting out the way just as Knockout got to her feet and came charging in towards him, the bullets embedding in her skin but doing nothing to stall her charge. "Shit." Deadshot swore as his teammate barrelled into him and stopped snorting and snarling as she turned to face Boomerang again. Picking up Deadshot she threw the mercenary down the range, his body slamming into Boomerang and causing the pair to collapse into a heap.

"Well that was inspired." a voice came from behind her as the air rippled to reveal Smokescreen standing behind the Female Furry, "As was this." she added slamming a Taser stave into Knockout's back. With a howl of anger Knockout turned and tried to grab Juno only to see her target slip backwards before throwing a grenade at her, the explosive detonating above her in a torrent of ink. Blindly Knockout charged but Smokescreen had moved on and all the Female Furry could do was crash through the wall behind her.

Vassal raised his axe and blocked the lithe Scandal Savage as she slashed at him again. Whilst he had carried his brother's axe for over a year this was the first time he had ever fought with it in melee combat. Usually just carrying the thing was intimidation enough for the low life hoods and bail jumpers he had used to target but this woman was something else. With a scream she slipped her claws under the haft and Cody found himself with a blade in his gut before she removed it. Luckily a combination of chain mail and the enhanced muscle mass that the Ozcorp issue power pack supplied had limited the damage and on the plus side now he was angry. Swinging the blade he fired an energy pulse and watched as his target barrel rolled over the blast and the three follow up attempts before ricocheting off a crate and heading towards him claws first. Slamming the axe diagonally upwards Vassal countered the attack and flung Scandal across the warehouse to where Bane was ripping the boomerang out of his shoulder while pummelling Quicksand, his blows creating holes in the Thunderbolts body but doing no real lasting damage.

"Doth the executioner want another pair of boots?" Ragdoll asked. Vassal looked down to see the creepy contortionist wrapping himself around his legs and jabbing at his hamstrings in an attempt to topple him.

"Get off." Vassal roared as he reached down to rip Ragdoll off his legs. Wrapping around his victims arm he pulled down causing the larger man's spine to creak before causing him to slam back first into the concrete floor. "Well that was unexpected." Ragdoll purred as he flipped himself out from Vassal's body, "King Shark I'm coming." he whispered as he saw his team mate wincing under the sonic blows that Songbird threw at him.

Abe hovered above the scene of combat, it was clear from how they were fighting that his original assumption of the intruders being neophytes was incorrect, in-fact they were handling themselves like pros. Black Tarantula was engaged in a beautiful fight with the man dressed as a cat, the pair of them exchanging blows and blocks so quickly that the majority were invisible to the naked eye. Across the floor Smokescreen was holding her own against the woman with the knives but Abe couldn't help notice that Juno was already bleeding and while she was skilled her opponent was even better. Elsewhere the Tiger Shark wannabe and the creepy clown were fighting Melissa and Chris, the fight seemingly even while Quicksand appeared to be winning against the masked wrestler. Boomerang and his opponent were also tussling but it was far from elegant, with each of the combatants cursing and gouging at each other. _"So who have I forgotten?" _Abe told himself, _"The Wrestler girl, Knockout I think she was called crashed out of here but there was another one as well"_

His musing came too late as Jeanette crashed into him knocking his suit down to the floor as the woman sat on his chest pining his arms down to the floor. "You know I can sense when people are about to die." his assailant purred, "Do you know which one of you're team only has a few months left?"

"No." Abe replied as he activated his Taser and sending sparks through his armor causing Jeanette to convulse with energy albeit not enough to remove her from his chest. Switching to his grenade revolver Abe was pleased to see that he still had some thermal rounds left from his fight with the F5. "It's over you're about to lose and any prediction you make will be moot." he added as he fired the first shell, a gout of flame engulfing Jeanette and causing her to loosen her grip enough for him to free himself from her embrace.

"Enough." a new voice yelled Abe turned to see a man dressed in black clutching the Chisel, the lights on the weapons flanks suggesting it was armed and loaded. "We have what we need and these 'heros' won't follow us, not if they want to keep people safe."

"What are you talking about?" Melissa boomed as she smacked Ragdoll off of her arm.

"This." Maurice snarled as he stepped outside and fired a shell at the Chicago skyline, "That rounds heading for the 'Sidewinder' Tower, you have a choice stop us or stop that."

"Thunderbolts stand down." Abe yelled.

"But boss…" Boomerang begun.

"I said stand down, let them go for now." Abe snarled.

"This isn't over." Bane replied, "Secret Six withdraw." he bellowed as the two teams disengaged.

"We're just going to let them go?" Chris asked as the Secret Six ran out of the warehouse.

"For now." Abe stated, "At this moment I have to be faster then a speeding bullet or an entire building falls."

* * *

**New Thunderbolts vs. Secret Six #2**

Two teams of antiheros in one city, can Chicago survive such an onslaught. As the Thunderbolts attempt to save their home the Secret Six decide to take matters into their own hands, a move that doesn't impress the locals.


	2. Jurry of your Peers - Part 2

Melissa watched as the flare of retreating boosters sped after the blue contrail left behind the 'Chisel' projectile, the pair of them cutting through the overcast morning as coloured streaks over the city. Hopefully today was the day that Abe's Interceptor armor lived up to its name and actually stopped the slug before it reached the Sidewinder Building. Anxiously she double tapped the ear piece she wore and connected into Volkner's communication network that had been set aside for the Thunderbolts use.

"Seth its Melissa come in I have some news."

"Melissa? Did you manage to find out what was going on down by the waterfront?"

"Yeah and its bad news somebody stole the Mass Driver but for the moment that is not the most immediate problem. The thief fired the weapon into the city, Abe is currently in pursuit but there is a chance that we won't catch the bullet in time."

"I understand do you want me to contact the police and set up a cordon?" Seth asked.

"No you don't understand the slug is heading for the Volkner Enterprises building, at current speed it will hit the eighteenth floor in just over seven minutes." Melissa yelled back.

"I see." Seth answered; "I will do what I can on my end." he added his voice sounding chocked and full of anguish. "Melissa make me proud that I hired you. Do what it is you do best."

"What's that?" Melissa asked quietly.

"Save them?" Seth answered before removing his ear-piece and looked out over the city before turning to the wardrobe in the back of the room. Opening the door he looked at the only piece of clothing hung up inside, a red armoured body suit and serpentine mask, its yellow lenses glaring at him. Rubbing his chin Seth closed the closet and headed back to his desk and activated the computer quickly typing in co-ordinates into the monitor before moving the mouse over the green button labelled execute.

"To all personnel currently in the building, I am planning to test the structures teleportation grid. I want to assure you that except for a mild case of nausea you will be unharmed, thank you for you're cooperation and I will contact you shortly." Seth stated as he activated the building's PA system. As he finished he clicked the button and red light erupted across the building for a few seconds before fading away. "Computer calculate the number of staff left in the Sidewinder Building?" he asked.

"One member of staff remains on the premises." the computer stated.

"Good." Seth wheezed as he kicked his computer chair over to the window, "Now let's watch as my Heros save the day."

Melissa looked back at the rest of the team before tapping her earpiece this time with the intent of connecting to the Interceptor's sensor network. After a few seconds of screeching she heard the white noise fade away replaced by the sound of Abe breathing and the whoosh of the suit carving through the air. "Abe talk to me?"

"Mel bad news while the slug is travelling at sub sonic speeds the fero-magnetic shield around the bullet is preventing me from getting close to the projectile or from knocking it off path." Abe informed her, "What I need is heat to weaken the magnetic field."

"Heat?" Melissa parroted, "Wait I could in theory get Oxide to the tower before the slug."

"Throw in Quicksand as well." Abe added, "She might be able to help support the building if the worse scenario becomes the only scenario. As for the others…tell them to head to Millennium Park, the armor is synced into the tower, Volkner teleported the workers out and judging from the energy spike that is where they ended up. We may as well send some friendly faces to check up on them."

"Roger that." Melissa answered before summoning a hard sound bottle and chain in front of the other Thunderbolts. "Chris, Quicksand I'm fast-tracking you back to home, Abe thinks that your powers may be strong enough to stop the bullet." she told them as a sonic hand scooped them both up and slipped them inside.

"Oh I hate this plan already." Chris moaned as Quicksand flowed around him. "Hey hands." he yelled.

"Come on its legal." Quicksand purred, "Just." Grabbing the chain attached to the bottle Melissa lifted into the air before reaching an acceptable height. Rapidly she rotated, the centrifugal force speeding up the capsule to supersonic speeds before sonically dissipating the chain at the right moment causing the bottle to soar off towards the tower in a flash of pink.

"Uh can I not be fast-tracked." Boomerang whimpered, "Purely for the whole I don't want to die reason."

"No you can do something else." Melissa told him, "Vassal lead the others to Millennium Park and check up on the people teleported their, once done check back in with me or Abe to get a Sit-Rep." Vassal nodded before shouldering his axe and pointing to the nearest bridge back into the city, the others following close behind him. Rubbing her head Melissa streaked off after the assorted orange, blue and pink streaks silently preying that she hadn't just killed her friends.

* * *

Maurice lifted the box containing the 'Chisel' out of the van and shot a glance at the Secret Six sitting in the back of the vehicle and the hotwired Cadillac parked next to it. On the drive over Bane had demanded that he see the person who was in charge and Maurice had idiotically blurted out that he would see what he could do about a meeting. And while he was terrified of what Bane would and could do to him if he failed he was more afraid of his boss Madame Masque, her mean streak was miles wider then all the Secret Six combined.

"Okay come on up after Me." he said trying to sound confident, "I'll deliver the package and talk to the boss and see if she is available for a meeting."

Bane cocked his head, the 'wizard' was trying to sound confident but as Catman had whispered on the way over, the man reeked of fear. It didn't matter if it was of them, his boss or even the Thunderbolts, fear was a weapon to be utilized and those consumed by it were generally useless. With a snort he motioned for the others to follow their 'saviour' up out of the underground parking and up into the main body of the building.

* * *

The bottle smashed into the side of the Sidewinder building, its surface smashing into sonic shards releasing the contents in a tide of sand and flailing limbs. Quicksand took a few quick seconds to stare at the building and Chris, his mouth moving and arm flailing, before revolving into a humanoid sandstorm, the force of the wind she had whipped up enough to keep her teammate from falling to the pavement below. "As soon as this is over I'm going to kill Songbird." Chris yelled.

Quicksand nodded before answering, "I am a little bit dizzy."

"What did Boomer have to do with any of this?" Chris asked.

"Shit." Melissa hissed as she drew level with Abe, "The sonic blast deafened them."

"Any ideas on how to snap them out of it?" Abe asked.

"Low Level Harmonic Pulse fired through Quicksand's Silicon body should act as a speaker. Get the sound loud enough to cut through the white noise." Melissa announced as she fired a wave of sonic energy across to the whirling ball of sand outside the Sidewinder Building. "Okay Quicksand, Oxide can you here me?"

"Ah man that's loud." Chris complained, "Okay we can here you loud and somewhat clear."

"Here's the plan." Melissa yelled, "The slug is heading for the eighteenth floor, to remove the magnetic shielding we need a wall of heat in-front of the building, something that will burn hot enough to melt a magnet."

"Okay got it." Chris replied, "Quicksand give me a line of sight so I can pour on the heat." Melissa watched as Quicksand formed a hovering platform under Oxide's feet and lifted him up towards the eighteenth floor. Turning her attention back to the slug she saw it wobble slightly before watching massive globs of molten metal come flying off of the round towards her and Abe. Stalling she summoned up several globes of energy around the slurry containing the molten tungsten inside as Abe lined up behind the slug. "Okay Chris cool it down." he yelled as his armor begun to screech a warning that the projectile was now within a kilometre of the Sidewinder Building.

"Got it." Chris yelled as Abe ran through the final simulation before firing a thermal round at the shell, the Incendry shot boring through the larger slug and causing it to fall apart only two hundred meters from its intended target. "Shit that was close." Abe swore as he watched the remains of the slug fall onto a rooftop below him, the round bouncing harmlessly off the concrete before coming to a stop.

"Now all we have to do is find the person who fired it." Quicksand buzzed as she carried Chris down to street level, "How many shells were being carried alongside the weapon."

"The manifest listed the shells and launcher as being separate." Volkner announced over the comm. channel. "Well done all of you, Vassal just phoned saying that all my workers are safe and you have just saved the building. As I mentioned the shells were being transferred by a different company that worries me because I have not had any indication that Chaparral Logistics and Transport were broken into."

"You're suggesting an inside job." Abe announced, "Run through the company's history and personnel files, see if they have any metas working for them. Maybe the Secret Six are a security force run by Chaparral. As soon as I find Juno I'll send her up as well, she's good at research."

"Speaking of Boomerang and Smokescreen." Volkner added, "They wanted to talk to you, something about a '12' on the Shepherd/Myers Wackiness Scale."

"I'll deal with it." Melissa stated, "What about the personnel in the park, do you have any orders for them."

"Give them the day off." Volkner ordered her, "I think they deserve it after the stress of this morning don't you?"

* * *

Bane eyed the Maggia gunmen scattered around the remains of the waiting room, Maurice had been gone a long time and King Shark had taken it onto himself to do a bit of redecorating. The fact that four of the guards had been used for additional 'artistic' flair had been a little over the top, but despite that nobody had caused any trouble even when the goons had watched the humanoid shark rip out their buddies guts to hang the secretary from the light fitting. Obviously they were well trained or so afraid of their boss that they were not going to interfere with anything that the Secret Six were going to do. With a growl Bane knocked on the door, the solid oak frame shuddering before collapsing forward to reveal three more Maggia gunmen, Maurice and a woman dressed completely in black to match her hair and shoes, the only spot of colour a gilded mask worn across her face. It was the woman who spoke first with two quick words. "Kill them."

At once the gunmen opened fire, their shots going wide as Bane grabbed the first and slammed him over his knee, his target to his credit didn't scream even as he broke in two as the other members of the Secret Six rushed in. Bane spotted Catman outrunning King Shark to the second gunman, the hired thug falling to a single slash to the throat as the third of the defenders slammed a button, a heavy metal shutter slamming down in front of Maurice and his boss seconds before Knockout slammed the Maggia goon into the barrier, his body disintegrating as he made contact. Bane took a breath, the whole skirmish had taken seconds and yet the woman hadn't blinked or cursed or really done anything except clap sarcastically.

"Well you follow orders." the mob boss purred, "Two of those men were traitors working for the Silent Partner, I had no idea which ones but now I do." Bane snarled and went to reach forward in an attempt to rip the grate off the walls before being stopped by Scandal Savage.

"I wouldn't." she chided him, "There is some kind of ionic barrier across the shutter, one powerful enough to vaporize a man in under a second." Bane nodded before turning back to the mob boss. "We have come to appropriate you're organization." he announced coldly. "If you beg I will let you live."

"I am Giuletta Nefaria, I run this city so no I won't be handing you the empire my family has constructed. As for begging that is for underlings and two bit thugs who don't follow instructions." Madame Masque purred whilst removing a pistol from her belt. Without even looking at him she fired a shot into Maurice's skull causing him to slump to the ground with a gasp. "As you can see this man is not responsible for bringing you to this place. As I mentioned before I will not hand you control of the Maggia and that grate has enough power to keep all bar a god out of this room."

"King Shark." Bane rumbled, "Deal with the barrier." King Shark looked at Bane before flexing his muscles and slamming both his fists into the grate, energy darting up his body and causing him to groan in pain. With a single savage thrust he ripped the barrier down and flung the still sparking piece of metal at Madame Masque, albeit in a predictable fashion that allowed the Maggia boss to dodge out the way.

"Impressive." Masque purred, "But not enough to convince me to join you." she added opening fire as Scandal Savage ran towards her, the bullets ripping holes in the super villains frame until finally she collapsed. Masque didn't have time to gloat however, in a scream of fury Knockout surged forward and grabbed the Maggia boss in her hand before slamming her face first into the sparking grate, holding the squirming villain down until her face mask begun to melt, golden residue sliding down her cheeks before cooling into golden tears as the majority of the plate shattered.

"Shall I shoot her boss?" Deadshot asked as Knockout held Madame Masque up for the rest of the Secret Six to see. Bane was about to respond when Knockout's captive lashed out backwards with blades concealed on the tips of her shoes, the surprise causing the Female Furry to drop Masque onto the floor as Ragdoll sprung forward and wrapped his leg around her neck, crushing her trachea until it snapped, the head rolling across the floor sparking.

"A robot!" King Shark grumbled, "Did you know she was a robot?" he asked Catman. "Or a clone or a Cylon or whatever."

"Nope she smelt…authentic." Catman replied

"Hopefully not too bad." a voice asked from the ruins of the hall behind the Secret Six causing the super mercenaries to turn in unison to look at the new speaker. Standing in the middle of the room was another Madame Masque complete with face plate scowling at them. "You are just what I have been looking for."

"Are you crazy?" Deadshot asked, "Robot girl is pulling another trick."

"Hardly, the Maggia is a wounded beast, at one time we owned seventy percent of Chicago's real estate, now we barley have ten. The street gangs are rioting and out of our control and we have lost ground to the Quintos Rohas Cartel and Houses of the Golden Triangle as well as groups we kept out such as AIM. But the worst of our competitors is a man called the Silent Partner, a man who believes that he owns the city." Masque announced, "You bring strength, something this organization needs."

"And why should we trust you?" Bane asked, "You were against it mere minutes ago."

"My dear it's better to serve in hell as the devil's right hand then to burn at his feet." Masque replied, "A show of strength would unite all the newcomers under the Maggia's banner and take support away from the Silent Partner."

"And I know just how to appear strong." Bane growled, "Destroy the most powerful person around and continue down the list until there is no one left to appose you."

"And the strongest person in Chicago is?" Ragdoll asked.

"The Thunderbolts." Masque purred, "To win support all you need do is destroy the Thunderbolts."

* * *

"Is this accurate Spymaster?" the man sitting in the chair, it's back facing the man dressed in ballistic armor, asked as he reached for a glass of bourbon sitting on the arm of his seat.

"You hired me as you're lieutenant to infiltrate you're enemies." Spymaster replied, "Nefaria is planning to take the underworld from you."

"Yes it appears he does." the man in the chair answered, "And they plan to use this newcomer, this Bane to do so, he will soon find that she is nothing more then a gilded serpent."

"I recommend we let them kill each other and take what is left sir." Spymaster suggested.

"And you Mysteria?" the man asked as a blonde woman moved to stand next to Spymaster, "As my other lieutenant, what do you think I should do?"

"You invested a lot to get the Thunderbolts here in Chicago Silent Partner." Mysteria stated, "Do you want them destroyed yet. If so you must do it not Nefaria or she will become more powerful then we should allow her."

"Yes it would not be fitting for the Thunderbolts to be killed by another, not when their deaths would mean I would loose so much." the Silent Partner rasped as he placed the empty shot glass back down on the arm of his chair. "Spymaster who do we have in the city?"

"The Lethal Legion arrived two days ago sir." Spymaster announced, "We did plan to use them to back FACTs claim that a new super max prison needed to be built nearby to handle the Thunderbolts 'successes at reducing the city's crime"

"Yes Project Labyrinth I remember." the Silent Partner croaked, "Well they can still achieve that when the Thunderbolts arrest them after they have finished the new task set to them. Tell them that the objective has changed, that they are now here to kill the Secret Six, as for added incentive tell them that there is an extra half a million each if they kill them all before the end of the day."

"Yes sir." Spymaster barked.

"Oh and an extra half a million…" the Silent Partner paused to refill his shot glass, "If their deaths are painful."

* * *

**New Thunderbolts vs. Secret Six #3**

Things get Lethal as the Secret Six get a taste of the deadly enemy they have just made in the form of eight of Marvel's deadliest killers. And the Thunderbolts find out a little more about their adversaries and get a surprise visit from an unlikely ally.


	3. Jurry of your Peers - Part 3

Bane flexed his muscles as he sat down at the end of the long marble conference table that had recently been on the top floor of the Maggia's headquarters. It now sat in the heart of the skyscraper, mostly due to Bane's paranoia about attack from the air and the massive strength that King Shark and Knockout processed. Looking down the length of the cold surface he surveyed the eight chairs as well as the people sitting on them as well as King Shark quietly scoffing a plate of cuttlefish that the now deceased waiter had brought him. With grim determination he clicked the laser pointer bringing up the first picture of the armoured hero Interceptor.

"I hope you all studied the files that Masque gave you." Bane asked, "This is Interceptor, his suit makes him a human fighter plane and he has a wide range of weapons to deal with a multitude of threats. Among them are a high energy microwave pistol, tungsten carbide blades and micro flechettes designed to inject control nanites into the bloodstream. In addition to this we also know that he shares control of the Thunderbolts with our next target." he added clicking the pointer and shifting the image to one of Songbird.

"That's Songbird." Jeanette purred, "She is stronger then an average human but that is only a secondary concern compared to her abilities to convert sound into hard surfaces. We have already seen that she can neutralize my banshee cry and that she can fly so we can only assume that her imagination and vocal strain are the only limiting factors to what she can create." Bane nodded and clicked the pointer bringing up a blurry image of Black Tarantula perched on a rooftop.

"Here we have Black Tarantula, an Argentine mob boss who came to the States and became a new-age Robin Hood, stealing from his competitors and giving the money to the poor." Catman snarled, "He is fast and strong as well as having stamina to match my own. I'd wager that he's a good tracker and that he is an equally skilled killer." Catman scratched his chin, "He also has laser eyes if these files are too believed."

"They are." Madame Masque stated as she shifted uncomfortably in the last seat. Bane cocked his head before moving on to the next image.

"He's just some sod that looks like Digger Harkness." Deadshot spat, "May even be related, all I know is that I can take him out easily." Bane glowered at him before clicking the pointer again with the other members of the Secret Six rattling through the files about Vassal, Oxide, Quicksand and Smokescreen. The meeting continued after that with tactics, assets and threats all covered until Bane eventually stood up.

"So we all understand the plan?" he asked, "Deadshot and Catman will go out and cause some havoc. If the Thunderbolts follow their usual pattern then they will send two of their number out to recon and contain the problem. When they appear we will quickly take them out and retreat, before watching as the team falls apart about what they plan to do. As they schism we will pick them off and claim this city as the first step in our Empire, with such a display of strength we will quickly expand our organization's influence across the planet.

* * *

Abe shook his head as Boomerang dropped the bag of comics on the table, Myers had spent a hell of a lot of money on the books according to the receipt that had fluttered out he just hopped that it was worth it. Reaching down he pulled out a chunky volume and was shocked to see Bane staring back from the cover as he bent a man dressed like a bat over his knee. "Myers what the hell am I looking at here?" he asked as the other Thunderbolts removed books all supporting the Secret Six on the covers.

"We had just reached Millennium Park when Juno spotted a cardboard cut-out of Bane outside the cinema advitising the Dark Knight Rises." Boomerang explained after a quick chat to the clerk I realized that I had seen Bane and some of the others before. After the worker bees were okay we detoured to one of those nerd stores and quickly learnt the truth."

"But the truth is weird." Vassal butted in, "These guys are like the comic characters, surely they are just copy-cat artists and not the real thing."

"Sure it's possible but I just can't think how it could happen." Melissa answered, "So if they are comic characters, not that I'm saying that they are, how do we deal with them."

"Well if they are characters it isn't murder if we kill them." Boomer suggested as he clicked his knuckles.

"No murdering." Abe said sharply, "They are criminals just like Cyclone, Shockwave or Shrike. And just like them it they attack the city then they are going straight to the Raft."

"Could be easier said then done." Vassal muttered, "Have you read this issue, they fight through more villains then you can throw a stick at even if that stick happens to land in a federal prison."

"Doesn't matter." Melissa hissed, "We swore to protect the city and that's what we're going to do. Juno you're out tactical genius what do you think our plan of attack should be?"

"I think maybe we should deal with the pumpkin man on the flying broomstick first." Juno answered as she pointed out the window. The others turned to look as the sneering form of Jack O' Lantern blasted past cackling as he headed down the street."

"What the hell?" Abe swore, "If this isn't related to the six then I'm going to eat my hat. Mel you're in charge here, find out what we're up against. Boomer you're with me, Halloween just came earlier and we have a pumpkin to smash."

* * *

Deadshot settled on the side of one of Chicago's elevated railway and aimed at the pedestrians walking on the pavement. While he enjoyed killing the thought of a massacre enthused him a lot less then it used to. Lining up his first shot on the young woman pushing a pram down the road before coyly glancing up at where Catman was positioned under an urban camouflage cape. The pair of them had formulated a plan, Deadshot would cause the commotion and draw the Thunderbolts in and once they had arrived Catman would spring in from behind and swiftly kill the first so that the odds were firmly skewed in their favour.

"Deadshot are you set." Bane asked over the earpiece he wore.

"Ready boss, Blake and I are in position." Deadshot replied.

"Then start shooting." Bane ordered. Deadshot gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger, his first round slamming through the young mother's head, the force of her collapsing body pushing the pram into the traffic. Seconds later screaming tyres and the sound of crashing vehicles flooded the streets as Deadshot lined up on a second target, this one a police officer running towards the chaos he had caused. He was just about to pull the trigger when a shadow flew over him, firing his shot Floyd looked up to see Jack O' Lantern sharply veer around above him and throw a grenade down at him, the projectile exploding into thick orange smoke. Coughing Deadshot pulled out a pistol and fired a trio of shots at his attacker, two of them striking the flying broomstick and the third slamming into the henchman's leg; the pain causing him to cackle menacingly and zoom underneath the highrail, indiscriminately dropping grenades down on the assorted trapped pedestrians and brave rescuers sending the majority into a fearful frenzy away from Deadshot's sniper perch.

"Bane the Thunderbolts arrived early." Catman states as he watches Deadshot drop down onto the street whilst firing shots up at his attacker, "And they obviously have more members then we knew about."

"What?" Bane snarled, "What's happening out there?"

"Pumpkin man showed up and attacked Deadshot." Blake answered.

"Pumpkins?" Madame Masque asked as she listened in on the conversation, "That is not a Thunderbolt it's a criminal called Jack O' Lantern. Looks like you have more enemies then just the Thunderbolts."

"How do I know you didn't send him?" Bane asked, "An attempt to showcase your own power."

"If I had sent anybody I would have used stealth." Masque replied, "This kind of thing is bound to attract trouble."

"Yeah trouble just showed up." Catman growled as Deadshot climbed a fire-escape as 'Jack' threw a shower of candy at the pavement, the toxic sweets melting through the concrete. "Interceptor and Boomerang just appeared on the sensors, do we continue with the plan?"

"Yes," Bane ordered, "Blake stay where you are, Lawton kill the clown on that broom and get ready for one hard-shell incoming."

"Easier said then done." Deadshot snarled as he reached the rooftop as Jack flew past dropping a shower of candy. "Shit." he yelled as he leapt off the section of roof covered by the acid as it melted the corner of the structure he was standing on. "Right Sleepy Hollow let's see what you look like without a head." he hissed as he threw away his pistols and pulled out his sniper rifle, quickly firing a snap-shot into Jack's broomstick sending the device skidding across the roof, it's jet turbine burning blue as it's rider leapt off before it detonated.

"Someone really wants you dead." Jack O' Lantern sniggered as he pulled out a pair of short handled scythes, "That's why they hired me."

"So far I've just seen a Joker/Scarecrow wannabe" Deadshot huffed, "I'm not impressed."

"Maybe the two of you should calm down." a third voice stated causing both Deadshot and Jack to look up. Hovering above them was Interceptor, his arm mounted grenade launcher aimed at Jack O' Lantern while Boomerang held out a pair of 'electrorangs' ready to throw at Deadshot.

"You don't need to fear me." Jack snarled, "I only came for him."

"I don't care." Abe replied, "You are a serial killer. You don't belong here."

"Enough talking." Deadshot yelled firing a shot at Jack, the lithe hitman already in motion. Abe fired and watched as his loaded Taser rounds smacked into a bare section of rooftop as Jack O' Lantern sprung towards Deadshot as his target opened fire with his wrist mounted machine pistols, the rounds bouncing off his attacker's armor and mask. With a quick slash Jack cut through Deadshot's sniper rifle and was greeted with a swift punch to the face causing him to fall sideways as Lawton lined up a shot. He never got to take it as a projectile slammed into his leg causing him to fall sparking next to his target. Groaning he saw Jack O' Lantern remove a knife and shove it towards his neck only to be stopped as a second boomerang stabbed into his hand pining it to the concrete.

"Both of you stay down." Abe commanded as he landed next to the pair of fallen convicts, "You both are…ugh." he grunted as both Jack and Deadshot kicked him in the chest knocking him back as the pair of villains got to their feet and continued from where there fight had left off. Landing next to Abe Boomerang cocked his head before flinging in a projectile into the fray, the Shatterang detonating between the two of them and throwing them to opposite sides of the roof.

"Okay which one do you want?" Boomer asked Abe, "Comic Gunman or the Great Pumpkin himself."

"I'll take Deadshot you get Jack, make sure he can talk once he's done, it seems a little odd that he only came here to fight Deadshot."

"Okay boss." Boomer replied taking to the air and pulling a pair of 'rangs out of his belt. "Never got this whole Trick or Treat crap anyway." Abe turned to see Deadshot open fire on him the bullets bouncing off the Interceptor armor and falling harmlessly to the floor as he advanced.

"Any time Blake." Deadshot hissed as Abe advanced, "Kind of outnumbered here."

"Hold fire Catman." Bane ordered, "Deadshot this Jack O' Lantern mentioned he had been hired to kill us, you need to get answers from him. For now killing the Thunderbolts is not the main objective."

"You say that but you don't have the Terminator heading you're way." Deadshot replied as he pulled out a pistol loaded with adhesive explosives. Pulling the trigger he watched as blobs of blue energy stuck to Abe's armor and then detonated, the explosions rocking the suit, causing the Thunderbolt's advance to stop. With a sneer Deadshot reached up and unlocked Abe's helmet revealing his face to the world as he levelled one of his wrist mounted guns right at Abe's forehead. "No reason why I can't do both." he stated.

Boomerang dodged a set of pumpkin bombs thrown at him, the blasts exploding in thick green fog that burnt at his lungs until he jetted through the mist and slammed fist first into the hit-man's chest knocking him off the edge of the roof and onto the partially melted fire-escape below. With a cocky smile Boomer watched as Jack struggled to get to his feet seconds before the Thunderbolt threw a Bladerang at the weakened supports causing the structure to collapse throwing Jack to the pavement as the remains of the fire-escape slammed down around him like a cage keeping him trapped, at least temporarily.

"Hey Abe I got him." Boomer yelled triumphantly as he turned to see Deadshot lining up a bead on Abe. Without even thinking he reached down to his belt only to find out that he had used his last 'rang and that there was only one thing he could do. Kicking his boots into overdrive Myers flew across the roof-top as Deadshot pulled the trigger. With a crash Myers slammed into his teammate knocking his armoured form off the roof as the round slammed through his left shoulder and into his lung. With a crash both he and Abe hit the floor as Deadshot looked down at them before confidently striding away from the edge.

"Melissa we need help." Abe groaned as he watched a crowd of onlookers gather round him and Boomer. "Send an ambulance to the crossroads at Lawrence and Lincoln Avenue, Boomer is down and my suit's hydraulics is shot."

"Roger that Abe, heading out now." Melissa replied, "Shit wait the tower's alarm just went off, we're under attack."

"Melissa please Boomer needs help." Abe begged, "We need help now."

"I've called 911 but shit is that a T-Rex?" Melissa yelled, "Abe we are being swamped by my god Vikings on the left side Quicksand block the passage way, Tarantula head up and make sure Volkner is safe. Abe listen as soon as we can get to you we will for now just hold on." Abe groaned and watched as the crowd began to panic and flee, their bodies parting like the Red Sea as Jack O' Lantern limped towards them holding a pumpkin bomb in one hand and his scythe in the other. Stopping next to Boomer he placed the bomb on the Thunderbolts lips and flipped his scythe so that it was blade down next to the grenade.

"We were not ordered to harm you." Jack cackled, "But since you interfered then I have no choice…scratch that no choice I like other then to kill you. If it's any comfort the Lethal Legion will not target the rest of you're team until after the Secret Six are dead." he added drawing back his scythe as he got ready to hit the bomb like it was golf ball. Before he could a shot rang out and Jack went tumbling backwards propelled by the force of the bullet.

"Pumpkin just gave us a name." Deadshot grunted, "Looks like the Lethal Legion is out to kill us. Now that the Lantern is out what do you want me to do about the Thunderbolts?"

"Leave them." Bane ordered, "Boomerang will almost certainly die and that will cause the Interceptor to doubt himself. The tension caused by his ineffective leadership will cause the team to schism and become easy targets to neutralize."

"Got ya." Deadshot answered, "You just got lucky." he sneered at Abe before turning and walking away as sirens sounded.

"Boomer." Abe groaned, "Boomer hang on help is on the way."

* * *

Melissa slammed a Spartan Hoplite around the face as he advanced up the stairs of the Sidewinder building. It seemed to her as if history had vomited the deadliest fighters in the world right into the building's atrium. She had already taken down a pair of Velociraptors, an elite SS officer and a Napoleonic musketeer and that was just the tip of what was inside. The Thunderbolts had split up but last time she had seen Quicksand she had been in the process of pacifying the T-Rex that had been used as a battering ram to enter the premises. Deep down she was worried about Abe, from what she had briefly heard it wasn't going well. Either Jack O' Lantern was a lot deadlier then they had expected or the pumpkin headed reject hadn't been working alone. Melissa wondered how Juno was doing, there was no disguising the fact that she and Myers liked each other and while 'Smokey' as she was often called, was busy fighting a Scythian Headhunter it wouldn't be long before she asked about Boomerang. With a scream of triumph Melissa slammed the Hoplite in the face with a sonic hammer, watching him fall down the flight of stairs before walking back up towards her.

"Why won't you just die." she snarled as she slashed at him with a sonic sword mindful that a pair of WWI era Stormtroopers and what appeared to be Samurai were now heading up the stairs behind the Spartan. With a last ditch slash Melissa watched as the Spartan erupted into pink energy before disappearing along with his time displaced compatriots. Melissa blinked and looked down to see a dweeby looking man carrying a history book staring up at her. He looked like he was about to bolt so Melissa hummed up a set of sonic bindings that wrapped around him keeping her 'guest' from escaping.

"Explain yourself." Melissa yelled as she descended to stand next to the bound man.

"Please I came to help you." the man yammered, "I knew it was a mistake bringing them into our world but Maurice insisted."

"Who?" Melissa asked before slapping herself on the forehead, "Of course, well at least we know where our eight new pains the ass comes from and how they got here."

"I tried to read them back in just like I did with the forces that I brought here." the man whimpered, "I summoned them to protect me from the Maggia and the Secret Six."

"The Secret Six are working for the Maggia." Melissa spat, "That's great." she added as Vassal and Oxide walked into the room. "Guys keep this wanker under lock and key while I find Abe and Boomer. If he even looks at you funny cut off his head." she added.

"You wouldn't do that…" Bookworm whimpered as Melissa left, "Would she?" he asked Cody and Chris.

"Depends." Vassal snorted, "If Abe and Booms die then you may as well say high to St Peter right now, as it is you have the blood of everyone the Secret Six have killed on you're hands."

"I know that's why I came here." Bookworm stated trying to sound like he wasn't about to piss his pants. "This building isn't just a building. From what I saw in Millennium Park it contains a teleportation grid, with a focal point then combined with my powers I may just be able to trap the Secret Six back in the comic they crawled out of."

Vassal looked at Oxide before turning back to Bookworm. "Call Songbird in a few minutes, tell her that she had to hear this." he gasped, "As for you…" he turned and picked Bookworm up by the scruff of his neck, "Tell me more about this plan."

* * *

**New Thunderbolts vs. Secret Six** **#4**

Things are about to get interesting for the Secret Six and the Thunderbolts as the Lethal Legion attempts to live up to it's name. Jack O' Lantern may be heading to the raft but both teams are about to be the victims of a deadly home invasion as the Grim Reaper and Co decide to come a calling.


End file.
